The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1887-09-21
TIMELY TOPICS FOR FARMERS.
now TO DO PAyING WORK AT THIS
SEASON.
suggestions OF Interest, from an AuthoIi-
tntiyo source.
(W Jones in Southern CultivatorD

suggestions OF Interest, from an Authori-
tutiyc Source.
(W. l.. Jones in Southern Cultivator)
COTTON PICKING.
,ihc characteristic farm work of this
the iirt fail month is cotton harvesting.
The fruition Of the cotton planters hope
of Il successful, practical machine for the
gathering Of cotton is yet in allegiance,
and the work must still DC done by MIN
bic human fingers. Inventors, however,
arc earnestly at work seeking to solve
this great problem, as will be seen by
tho illustrations aud descriptions in this
number of the Cultivator. Cotton pick
ing by hand is by far the most expensive
operation in the production of raw cot.
ton. Moreover, the cost of nearly every
operation, except picking, may be re-
ducod in proportion as the yield per
acre Is greater. There is practically but
Ntuo difference IN the cost per pound of
gathering by hand the crop from M acre
producing ono thousand pounds of seed
cotton aud another acre yielding ono
half as much. Hcnco the supreme i'm :
portauco and universal desire for n
practical machine to supersedo the work
of the hand. Such n machine must
necessarily be SO constructcd-to be
eificent-that It's daily capacity will be
almost IN direct proportion TO the yicl1
per acre.
Much has been said and written of
late years about the Importance of g,,th-
erln8 cotton from trash, to use the
farmers vernacuar; and some Of the
writer's, although right in the main, are
evidently but little familiar WITH Tho re-
quircmcnts and conditions that must he
practically met on cotton farm during
the harvesting Of the crop. Some wears
ago an apparently otherwise intcllr2sut
English writer undertook to show that
there was no excuse whatever for tie
presence Of sand or soil III bales ot cot
ton; that the cotton crop opened mil Of
1T, was his idca) in September, q month
in which there was little or no ribful.
lie concluded, and roprov,d and lcctucd
the farmer accordingly, ihat the sand
was fraudulcntly added by the farm, ~
n make kcwei8ht.
While it is desirable TO housc tho cot
ton as free from leaf and hulli as uny
be, 1t is of first importance That the g, on
I've ''gone over" as often a. the quantity
open ut one tiIQc is su!iici,nt to epoIle
the hands to do II fair days work In
tho interest oC economy, and with a
limited picking force celebrity OF move
ment, nimblencss of fingers, and the
weight of cotton gathered per hand per
day are the points 10 I've observed. The
pickcrS should uot hu embarrassed and
retarded in their work by too rigid re-
quircmcnts in tho matter Of trash yhoy
should go with \ rush from the start an,h
every proper encourage shouli be
offered them to bring heavy basket to
the steclyards. y little trash hurts vary
little; good deal does not affect ,bc
selling price seriously, if the sample is
bright and FREQ from wCathcrstains and
dirt. Great care in removing or avoid.
ing trash may add half cent or even
work OF six bales harvested, leaving three
bales in the field to he storm beaten and
destroyed TO the extent Of our-third it's
on ynnl value, before tho hands get to
work again. Fast work and little more
tra.' might have saved the nine hnlcs
before the storm.
The same idea @ppiics to picking the
cotton clean from the hulls. Hunds
should be taught to make ono we'll
directed grab ut an open boil, and 'hcn
grab the next. The little that may be
left in many Of the hulls will remain
until tho last picking, when the field
may be closely CLEANED. 1t shonld be
considered that uirt, stains, loss OF color
and brightness of sample, and loss Of
cotton from falling TO the ground, are
far more damaging than the presence Of
clean trash.
1t was one OF the eXccllencies of David
Dickson's farm management that he
tudicd the manual operations of the
arm in detail and taught his lnbcrcrs
how to do everything to the best posi-
bio advantage. He not only studiCh to
discover the shortest and best way Of
performing q given operation, but also
sought to determine which are the most
important details. He taught his labor
ers as Il shoemaker or Il machinist teach
es his apprentice. He stressed the i'm
portancc Of dcXtority and skill i'll every
detail Of the apparently simple opera
tions OF chOppInR cotton and picking
cotton. His attention to the details OF
performing tho various farm operations
contributed largely to his success rs n
farmer and planter.
Aftor the cotton is picked, if wet iIom
uohNy uo" pT IhiH IL VIII phy 10 cNcEClsc
some care IN drying 1t, by spreading on
ecailolds or by distributing 1t over u
large surface in the cotton house, espC-
cially that from tho bottom OF the basket
when heavy dews are prevailing. (With
tho present labor, however, not much
cotton is gathered before the dew dis
appears.) With the larger part of the
crop now ginned and balcd ut custom
ginnories, there should bo much great
or improvement i'll the quality of the
work over that OF tho old plantation
Clubhouse than is yet manifest Careful
handling, proper ginning and baling
should be insisted upon.
GATHERING corn.
Corn ought to bo cribbed Just w soon
as dry enough to keep in bulk. ON
almost invariablc practice during twenty
wears of active farm life in lower Georgia